Panthers Win First In Series With A Romp

MIAMI — Florida International made sure its first Shula Bowl win was a memorable one for the Golden Panthers and a lamentable one for Florida Atlantic.

The Golden Panthers blew away rival Florida Atlantic 52-6 Saturday at FIU Stadium, an embarrassing defeat the Owls won't be able to forget since they will have to hear about it all offseason.

"I knew that they were hungry. After getting beat three times, I was sure they would come out the fourth time swinging," FAU linebacker Shomari Earls said.

The problem was FAU never swung back.

"It was a big win for our program," said FIU coach Don Strock, who had suffered through three consecutive defeats before Saturday's drubbing.

"It was a thing of beauty to watch it from the other side and a horror show from where I was standing," FAU coach Howard Schnellenberger said.

FIU took control from the opening kickoff, scoring on its first three drives to take a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter.

Then, when its offense slowed down, FIU's defense took over, running back two interceptions for scores to make it 31-0 early in the third quarter.

The Golden Panthers scored twice more on interceptions to tie an NCAA Division I-A record on the way to their biggest margin of victory in the team's four-year history.

That was the kind of night it was for FAU, which came into the game as a 1-point underdog. Since the three previous Shula Bowls had been decided by 10 points or less, another close game was expected.

"The whole team wasn't mentally focused. We weren't emotionally into it," said Earls, a senior who was playing his final game for FAU.

FIU had no problem with its focus. "Everyone wants that trophy," said FIU running back Ben West, who rushed for 140 yards and three touchdowns.

It was not the way FAU wanted finish the season, finishing 2-9 and 2-5 in Sun Belt. FIU improved to 4-6 and 2-4 in the Sun Belt with one game to play.

The Golden Panthers decided to forgo their usual pass-first offense and instead pound the ball against FAU's young line, and the strategy worked.

FIU, which came into the game averaging 106.4 yards rushing, gained 266 against the Owls, which helped them forge a big lead and force FAU to play catch up.

While Schnellenberger said he thought it was the worst loss in FAU's history, it may have only seemed that way, since they were beaten 61-10 by Louisville earlier this season.

"We will use this shellacking as a rallying point for the continued development of our program," Schnellenberger said.

"It's going to be in my head. Every game I play I am going to think about this score and how we got beat this bad," said FAU junior offensive lineman Nello Faulk. "I'll think about what we did wrong in that game and what we can't do next year."